Books: Straight To Hell vs The Buy Side

Both books are about tales and excess of successful (for us monkey) finance professionals. What book do you prefer and why? Would you have any books of the same type to recommend? Not looking into textbooks but more into autobiographies with a funny twist or any funny/easy to read finance books.

15 Comments
 

Both are good. The Buy Side seems to be a lot more introspective and about an outsider “fitting in” Wall Street Culture. Bonus he worked for Raj too. Straight To Hell seems to be someone brought up to be in Wall Street Culture, with a ton of humor.

I would recommend reading both, why not?

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 

I read Flash Boys many years ago, it was like The Buyside but very depressing (not that The Buy Side wasn't at parts). Interesting read.

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 
Most Helpful

Cityboy, Beer and Loathing in the Square Mile - I didn't read Straight to Hell but I presume Cityboy is the most similar to it on my list. It's written by a guy who spent about eight years in ER at three different banks in London. He also wrote two novels in the same vein.

Street Freak - My favourite book of this kind. The author worked in ETF trading at Lehman Brothers between September 11 and the bankruptcy of the firm. It is less about debauchery than about breaking in, details of trading strategies and the stress of the job. The author used to frequent this forum a few years back.

When Genius Failed - Detailing the rise and fall of Long Term Capital Management. You might remember John Meriwether (the founder of LTCM) from a few short passages in Liar's Poker when he was head of domestic fixed income arbitrage at Salomon Brothers.

Den of Thieves - About a string of security fraud and insider trading cases in the 1980s. It follows the stories of Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine. Also details the rise and fall of Drexel Burnham Lambert and Kidder, Peabody & Co. The author went through heaps of court documents and the book is a long and sometimes tedious read compared to the other books in this thread.

Free Food for Millionaires - In case you're interested in a novel about the daughter of Korean immigrants breaking into NY IB. The author interviewed many bankers, traders and MBA grads so it felt quite accurate to me. The title is derived from the story that the MDs are always the first in line when there is free food in the office. My favourite book this year.

Array
 

Unfortunately, I don't know any other books with the same topic and style. Most books on finance are more of the sober variety.

There are a couple books that were adapted into movies you probably already know. Rogue Trader by Nick Leeson (his 1.6 billion trading losses in 1995 bankrupted Barings Bank), The Bonfire Of The Vanities by Tom Wolfe (investment banking in the 80s) and American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis (investment banking in the 90s, the book is supposed to be more graphic... yeah I know).

Maybe you find a book in this old thread. I think Traders, Guns and Money will be my next finance read. https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/newer-books-like-rise-fall-of-lt…

Array
 

Natus est voluptatem et ut ut. At quos esse velit aut dolor deserunt exercitationem. Ut explicabo voluptate dolorem cum soluta quia. Cum ducimus sit iure ullam nostrum. Aut consequatur minus enim aut aliquid expedita voluptas culpa.

Velit et molestiae cupiditate et est dolor qui. Numquam voluptatem culpa est corporis veniam vero ut rerum. Odio architecto est accusamus illo accusamus. Cumque tempora ipsum voluptatibus sapiente explicabo explicabo accusamus. Possimus aperiam dolorem vel nobis tempore corrupti. Praesentium sit est aut eius est molestias.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”